What we're covering
• PSG repeats as champions! Paris Saint-Germain need a penalty shootout in Budapest’s Puskás Aréna to win the Champions League after the game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.
• Les Parisiens make history: PSG becomes only the second team to win consecutive competitions since it was reformatted and rebranded in the early 1990s. The win cements the club as one of the greatest in European soccer history.
• A back-and-forth game: Ousmane Dembélé absolutely nailed a penalty after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia drew a penalty in the 62nd minute, bringing the champions level. Kai Havertz had buried the first shot of the game into PSG’s net, giving Arsenal a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute of the game.
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• Cobertura en directo en español: sigue toda nuestra cobertura de la final de la Liga de Campeones en CNN en Español.
PSG wins second straight Champions League title as Arsenal suffers heartbreak
Paris Saint-Germain made history on Saturday with its defeat of Arsenal in the Champions League final, prevailing 4-3 on penalties after the game was tied 1-1 after 120 minutes of play.
Watching the game, it was evident PSG was the better side and dominated proceedings for the most part. But the way Arsenal was able to impose its style of play on Luis Enrique’s side was outstanding for the majority of the match.
Despite Kai Havertz opening the scoring after just six minutes, the final didn’t really spark into life until the final 20 minutes when legs got heavy, changes were made and both teams took off the handbrake and the enormity of the occasion truly set in.
There were virtually no gaps between the Gunners’ lines and virtually no player in red out on that pitch ever missed a beat in the defensive third, until a foul by Cristhian Mosquera on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia led to a penalty that Ousmane Dembélé converted to tie the match.
Despite the intensity of the final moments of normal time, Arsenal hung on – you don’t have to love the way the Gunners goes about their business, but it demands respect. The almost insatiable appetite it has to defend is truly admirable. It has taken them to the Premier League title and just yards away from a first Champions League, but it just wasn’t to be for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Extra time was mainly an exercise in killing time until penalties, when the Parisians took their chances – aside from one save from David Raya – and Arsenal defender Gabriel sailed a must-have spot kick over the bar to hand the title to PSG.
As for PSG, what more can be said…
When they write the story of the greatest teams to ever grace the European club game, they will put this Luis Enrique side firmly in that conversation.
Before his arrival, PSG almost seemed cursed in this competition and was unable to get over the line almost to the point of ridicule – then stepped in this visionary Spanish genius.
What’s most impressive about Enrique is not just the silverware he’s brought to the French capital, but the manner in which his team plays. For a soccer purist, it reminds them why they love this game so much. Imagine what superlatives will be needed if Les Parisiens manage to win this title a third time in a row next season.
Thankfully, we have 12 months to think about that.
Fires lit and fireworks explode in French capital after PSG wins Champions League
It didn’t take long for parts of the French capital to devolve into fires being lit in the streets after PSG’s victory.
Live video from Reuters showed videos of fires in the streets of the city, along with the sound of fireworks going off and glass breaking as crowds celebrated Les Parisiens second straight Champions League title.
Firefighters were on the street hosing down the burning stacks of e-bikes, the live stream showed, and fire trucks were making their way through showers of sparks from fireworks being lit in the darkening Paris skies.
More than 500 people were arrested and two people died in France last year following PSG’s victory over Inter Milan.
"My prayer was to win the Champions league again and we did it," says Doué
Désiré Doué is just four days shy of his 21st birthday, but the young French star is already a two-time Champions League winner and he’s not even been at PSG two full calendar years.
The scary thing for opposing teams is that he’s only just going to get better. It’s easy to forget the 20-year-old only made his professional debut less than four years ago.
He’s now one of the key figures for a team that is undeniably head and shoulders above all in Europe.
“We are so proud tonight, so happy, (and) so grateful ,” Doué told TNT Sports immediately after the game on the pitch.
“It was a tough game against a very good team, so we have to (say) congrats to them because they had a really good season.
“But I thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ tonight because my prayer was to win the Champions League again and we did it.”
PSG lifts the trophy aloft to celebrate second Champions League
What a moment for everyone associated with PSG.
Any notion that it wouldn’t mean as much the second time around can firmly be put to bed. The entire squad, coaches and backroom staff are jumping up and down on the podium as gold confetti rains down on them.
Arsenal’s players stayed to watch the trophy lift but quickly headed to the tunnel.
Arsenal fans stick around to applaud their team
Many Arsenal fans headed for the exits as soon as Gabriel missed his spotkick but some have stayed around to clap their team as they receive their runners-up medals.
Everyone in red and white is looking mighty glum here in Budapest but they can definitely be proud. It’s still been a historic season.
Watch the deciding moment
It’s a moment that has to be seen to be understood. The moment Gabriel sails the penalty kick over the net – and PSG turns nerves into jubilation.
Here is the moment that decided the final:
So cruel and yet so brilliant at the same time
I’ve watched so many penalty shootouts over my 32 years but they never get any less dramatic.
It’s just so exposing for the penalty taker. The biggest stage of all, with millions around the world watching and it’s just you, the ball and the goalkeeper. To make matters worse, it’s a shot any professional soccer player should be scoring but pressure can do crazy things, and someone always has to break.
Whether it’s luck or a skill that can be perfected is still up for debate, but no one can deny that it’s one of the most dramatic elements in all of sports.
Arsenal came so close to yet more history and instead go home to North London with nothing but an open wound.
Meanwhile, PSG fans and players begin celebrations that will no doubt run deep into the night – the trophy made all the more special by the manner of victory.
In truth, PSG probably shaded the match. It looked more threatening throughout and showed bravery in attack.
But Arsenal did itself proud. It turned up and gave the champions a real run for their money. But losing on penalties will still make this moment one of the worst in their career.
PSG has cemented its place as an all-time great side
Back-to-back Champions League titles – that is what PSG has just done.
The only other team to achieve that since the competition rebranded and reformatted in 1992 is 15-time winner Real Madrid.
How this side stacks up against that one is a matter of opinion and open for debate.
But what can’t be questioned is that Luis Enrique’s PSG side will now go down as one of the greatest European club soccer has ever seen.
Chelsea takes a subtle shot at London rivals seconds after brutal loss
It was a brutal way to lose for Arsenal fans. Even more brutal is the fact that their London rivals were seemingly lying in wait.
Chelsea, winners of two European Cups, posted on X just minutes after the Champions League final and urged visitors to come see “London’s Home of Trophies.”
Prominently pictured? Ol’ Big Ears, the prize for winning the Champions League.
PSG wins the Champions League!
Gabriel misses so PSG win the shootout. The Brazilian defender had been brilliant all match but sends his penalty blazing over the bar.
It’s heartbreak for Arsenal but pure elation for PSG who retains its title from last year.
Flares are lit in the PSG end as the players celebrate all over the pitch.
PSG 4-3 Arsenal
PSG back ahead in the shootout.
PSG 3-3 Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli scores with ease, blasting his shot into the net.
PSG 3-2 Arsenal
Achraf Hakimi scores for PSG. He sends Raya sprawling the wrong way as he puts his shot in the left side netting.
PSG 2-2 Arsenal
Declan Rice levels the shootout. He slots his shot just past the keeper on the right side.
PSG 2-1 Arsenal
Nuno Mendes has his spotkick saved! David Raya with the diving save and gets his hands on the ball.
PSG 2-1 Arsenal
Eberechi Eze hits wide. He pauses and tries to outsmart the keeper, but instead pulls the shot to the left and misses all of the net.
PSG 2-1 Arsenal
Désiré Doué slots in for PSG. He sends the keeper the wrong way again and goes to the lower right corner.
PSG 1-1 Arsenal
Viktor Gyökeres scores for Arsenal. Another easy finish down and to the right as the keeper goes the other way.
PSG 1-0 Arsenal
Gonçalo Ramos scores for PSG.
Ten years on, we have another shootout to decide a Champions League final
It has been 10 years since the Champions League final has been decided by a penalty shootout, which was when Real Madrid beat its city rivals Atlético Madrid in Milan.
Until now. Penalties are upon us to crown a European champion for just the 12th time in the history of this competition.
